FF Keeper of the stars (5/5)

["Christeen Demons" <Shyfox30@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Okay, you guys can stop howling for my blood now...here's the final chapter 
in Keeper of the Stars.:-)

The music in tonights' episode was provided by Confederate Railroad, 
Firehouse, and...well I'm not sure who Makin' Whoopee's by. Comments, 
criticisms, critiques...are always welcome. Enjoy

Chapter five: Party time.

She?s got the boogie woogie woogie spread all over the place,
got it stacked to the ceiling,
Got to stick it in your face.
Baby likes to rock it like a boogie woogie choo choo train.

Confederate Railroad.

Mario?s Restaurant was decorated like a great big, Italian heart. Red, white 
and pink Streamers hung in a colorful display from the ceiling, while pink 
hearts literally covered every spot in the room, from the large pink 
heart-shaped paper mache hanging in the center of the room, to the cloth 
napkins, folded into the shape of a heart. Mario had truly outdone himself 
in decorating the classy this Valentine?s Day...he had put a more special 
twist in on the day, considering it was Buffy and Willow?s wedding day.

The newlyweds held center stage in the front of Mario?s restaurant, seated 
at the long table he had set aside for the wedding party, and Buffy?s 
closest relatives. Willow personally, could have done without being the 
center of attention, as she felt the eyes of every person in the room 
staring at her, but she supposed it was normal, considering it WAS her 
wedding day.

Mario had truly outdone himself in the food department, he had stuffed 
tables full of antipasto?s, cannoli?s, Lasagna?s, ravioli?s and 
fettechine?s, along with a lot of other dishes, Willow couldn?t even begin 
to pronounce.

There was a busy, festive burr to the air, and it filled the newlyweds full 
of a nervous energy, that had never really fully left them from this 
mornings activities...they had of course had to have the obligatory guest 
line, and Buffy and Willow were surprised their hands hadn?t fallen off 
during the proceedings. As it was their hands still felt a little numb from 
all of the handshaking and hugging that had gone on, and if they never saw 
another greeting line again, it would be too soon. Then of course, Joyce 
insisted on getting photos of the wedding party, performed by a 
professional, somebody Buffy?s mom knew from her connections at the Museum, 
and they had posed, for what seemed like hours on the beach, getting sand in 
their shoes, as they felt the hot afternoon sun beaming into their face. 
Willow would be surprised if they managed to get any pictures at all of them 
not squinting into the camera.
The photographer had taken at least three rolls of film, when finally Buffy 
had threw her hands in the air and proclaimed, "That?s enough...no more...my 
wife is turning into a wilted Daisy." And with that said, had pulled Willow 
by the hand toward her mother?s car, where they had hoped to stay for the 
rest of the day, or at least until they reached the fun stuff.

But now, they were at the reception, finally, and Willow was indeed having 
fun tasting all of the delicious dishes Mario had prepared for them. Buffy 
was enjoying herself as well, as she traded banter with Xander about nearly 
falling asleep during the wedding.

"I?m telling you Buff, I was not sleeping standing up...it was the sun in my 
eyes...the sun I tell ya." Xander defended himself.

"Yeah...sure, Xand...just keep telling yourself that." Buffy smirked.

"You know, you?re awful cocky for an old married woman."

Buffy leaned towards Xander, a sly sexy smile lighting her face. "That?s why 
I?m cocky." She murmured to him, taking great delight in watching him gulp 
nervously...a twitchy grin taking over his face.

"You may have a point there, Buff." He said nervously, then cleared his 
throat and stood up.

Buffy wondered what the heck he was doing, until he picked up his wine glass 
and starting clinking it with his fork. The noise seemed to gather 
everyone?s attention as the small groups of people quieted and turned to 
hear what he had to say. "As best man, it is my duty to make the first 
toast." Buffy smirked at Xander?s grandiose manner, as he turned and nodded 
his head at the newlyweds. "I?ve known Buffy for four loooong years." A 
round of chuckles went round the room, as Buffy glared mockingly at him, she 
was way too happy to stay mad at anyone today.

"Get to the point, Xander." The Slayer said with a grin, raising a blonde 
eyebrow in apparent menace.

"And I?ve known Willow all my life. Will, you know better than anyone what 
you?re getting yourself into with this one." A titter of laugher was heard 
as Willow, grinned at her lifetime friend. "But if anyone can tame her...I 
think you stand the best shot. I?ll admit I had a wiggens when I first heard 
about it, but now that I see you two happy together and married...I can?t 
believe I didn?t see it before now. To Buffy and Willow Rosenberg Summers."

"Thanks, Xander." Willow grinned, hugging her long time male pal.
Xander sat down just as Joyce was standing up. "I have my own toast to 
make...to my daughter and my new daughter-in-law. I?d have to admit to my 
own share of...what was the word Xander used...wiggens?...when I first 
learned about your relationship...and all that goes with it." She exchanged 
a secret smile with her two daughters. "But the thing I?ve wanted most for 
Buffy in her life, is for her to find somebody to love, that completes her 
and fulfills her, someone to be there for her, and love her, and make her 
happy, totally and blissfully happy, and Willow...you do all of those things 
and so much more. I don?t think I?ve ever seen my daughter so relaxed and so 
in love. And so...it is my wish for you both to have a long and very happy 
life together."

"Thanks, Mom." Buffy said, tears filling the newlywed?s eyes. Willow was 
looking equally teary, and Buffy was just getting ready to kiss the tears 
away when the sound of someone clapping obnoxiously, filled the room. The 
sound originated in the direction of the entrance, and Buffy swiveled her 
head in that direction to see who would dare mock her wedding.

"Well, isn?t that just the sweetest thing you?ve ever saw." Buffy?s eyes 
narrowed as she caught site of a familiarly colored tuxedo, and a 
disgustingly familiar tilted cowboy hat.

"God, not him." Buffy groaned under her breath, wondering why morons seemed 
to pop up at the most inopportune times. The Cowboy from the rental place 
was standing big as could be in the middle of the entryway, a cocky grin 
twisting on his unshaven, pale face.

"I told you, you?d have a proper wedding feast, didn?t I Becky Sue? And I 
always keep my promise to my little angel." The Cowboy stepped further into 
the room, allowing his fiancée in behind them. She was still wearing the 
wedding dress Willow had seen her in that day at the Bridal shop, and the 
Wiccan wondered why the woman would still be wearing a wedding dress, then 
she noticed that the dress had dirty soil marks covering it, as if she had 
been buried in it, and noticed the too pale complexion normally associated 
with Vampires. She felt like slapping herself mentally, but didn?t think her 
wife would like the distraction such a move would cause.

"You?re right, love dumplin?." She said, as she looked around at the mass of 
people in the room. "And what a feast." Becky Sue licked hungry lips in 
anticipation of the feeding to come.

"I don?t remember ?inviting? you to my wedding reception." The Slayer said, 
as she stood menacingly. "Mario?" She questioned the uneasy proprietor about 
the unwelcome presence.

"I think it has something to do with my slogan." The Italian answered her, 
nervously.

Buffy looked at him, her blue eyes demanding the answer to her unspoken 
question. "Come one, Come all to Mario?s Restaurant. It seemed like a good 
idea at the time." Mario spoke rapidly, eyeing the hungry looking hicks 
apprehensively.

"I think it?s time to change your slogan." Buffy said, before she turned her 
attention back to the present danger. She eyed them warily, knowing if she 
didn?t act soon, they would start eating, and not the delicious Italian food 
Mario had worked so hard on, either. Then she spied the beautiful four 
tiered Wedding cake, Mario had made, and an idea entered the Slayer?s head. 
Removing the top layer of cake, Buffy set it aside(no need in getting Willow 
mad at her) then picked up the second tier, holding it in her right hand and 
getting ready to throw. "Well you know what some Queen in England said...Let 
them eat, Cake."

Just as the Cowboy was getting ready to pounce on the unsuspecting guests, 
Buffy let the cake fly, hurling it across the room, directly into Earl?s 
face.

"She shoots...she scores." Willow quipped, getting ready to go tackle Becky 
Sue, who was staring in slack jawed surprise at her now confection covered 
Love Dumplin?.

"Earl, how many times have I told you, you have to eat dinner BEFORE you eat 
dessert." The whiny voice of his undead wife, annoyed the blinded vampire 
who was busy trying to get Icing out of his eyes.
"Becky Sue, Would you please, SHUT UP!" The infuriated Vampire hick roared.

"You can?t talk to me like that, Earl...I?m going home." Becky Sue, said, 
turning around and heading for the door. Buffy struggled not to start 
laughing at the scene, it was too darned ludicrous. Whoever turned these two 
must have been really hard up for company.

"I?m sorry, Becky Sue...I was just mad cause I got cake in my eyes. Don?t 
go...you haven?t even eaten yet." The Vampire hick pleaded with his pissed 
off wife. She turned around to look at him, her eyes gleaming as she 
reconsidered, looking hungrily at the closest person to her at the time, who 
just happened to be Buffy?s mom.

"I guess you?re right Earl...I am hungry." The Vampire licked her lips to 
reaffirm the statement, her eyes gleaming in a predatory fashion as she 
looked Joyce over like a tasty morsel she was about to consume.
"Mom." Buffy called out, worried that she wouldn?t be able to reach her in 
time.

The Slayer needn?t have worried...one second Becky Sue was looking at Joyce 
like she was a box of leftover fried chicken, the next she was a pile of 
dust on the floor. "Way to go, Mom." Buffy called over to her, grinning from 
ear to ear. Joyce shrugged back at her, as if to say, ?It must run in the 
family.? Then she looked down at the spiked heeled shoe she held in her 
right hand. "So they do more than just make your feet hurt, huh?" Joyce 
said, feeling rather proud of herself.

By the time Earl got the Icing out of his eyes, and realized what had 
happened to Becky Sue, she was nothing but a job for a dust buster. He 
looked infuriated at the person who had turned him into a widower. "Why 
you...I?m going to kill you for that. You killed my sweet potato pie." The 
statement was ludicrous, but his actions were very frightening, as was the 
look in his eyes as Joyce, paralyzed by fear, was thrown up against the 
wall. She stared down, petrified, into a pair of long pointed teeth, and 
tried not to scream as they got ever closer to her neck.

Buffy saw what was going on, and an instant hardness filled the Slayer?s 
blue eyes. "That?s it...Earl has to die." She heard her name being called 
and she looked away just long enough to see a drum stick heading her way. 
She nodded as she caught it, then turned her attention back on the person 
who had crashed her wedding party. "Hey Earl...I know you?re hungry and all, 
but wouldn?t you rather get back at the person that made you look like a 
Girly-girl in a tuxedo shop."

The taunts caught the vamps attention, pride more important than food to a 
dumb hic, and he let the older woman drop to the floor as he turned to face 
the Slayer. His face lit up in a pointy grin, as he stepped forward, the 
chance to seek his revenge not escaping the poor cowboy?s mind. "Oh yeah, 
that?s right...I remember you. You?re that girlie in a tux that hasn?t 
learned her place yet. But I intend to teach ya...right before I kill ya."

"Oh...I learned my place a long time ago." The Slayer said, as she played 
with the drum stick that she held loosely in one had. "You see, I?m the 
Slayer...and it?s my job to kill you." She said, low enough so the whole 
room wouldn?t hear her, but just loud enough so that Earl would. The words 
penetrated the Vampire?s brain, just before the Drum stick pierced his heart 
and Buffy could see it penetrate on his brain, just before he turned into a 
pile of dust. "Somehow Earl, I don?t think you?re going to be missed." The 
Slayer said, reflectively, before she turned to view her wife, and make sure 
her mother was okay.

Giles was busy helping Joyce off of the floor, and she looked amazingly 
unscathed, the rest of the guests had gone back to talking as if nothing had 
really happened, another gift of forgetfulness thanks to the Hellmouth, and 
Buffy returned the drum stick back to the ?Dingoes? drummer, though he 
really didn?t look like he wanted to use it anymore.

Buffy made her way over to Willow, feeling slightly guilty about the whole 
mess for some unfathomable reason. "Hey...I?m sorry about this, Honey. I 
guess it was too much to ask for an unscathed Wedding day."
"Hey...this is SunnyDale. If I wanted a normal Wedding Day I would have gone 
to Malibu." Willow smiled at her, in the way only Willow could, and Buffy 
felt her spirits lifting almost magically.

Just another day on the Hellmouth, Buffy thought, then kicked herself 
mentally. No, not just any other day...this was the day she had married her 
soul mate. "I love you Willow Rosenberg-Summers." Buffy said, loving the way 
her wife lit up at those magical words.

"I love you too, Buffy Rosenberg-Summers. Come on, let?s dance."

*****

Willow led Buffy to the cleared off area Mario had set up into an impromptu 
dance floor, while the band had set up on the small stage. As soon as Oz saw 
the newlyweds, he made his way to his mike, and signaled the other band 
members to get into position. "This song is a classic, and my wedding gift 
to you. I hope you like it."

As Oz started a slow rift, he met Willow?s eyes, showing the red head all of 
the love he still felt for her and always would in the depths of his own 
brown eyes. She realized this was his way of letting go, and sent a silent 
prayer for him to find someone to love as much as she loved Buffy.

Buffy felt the silent communication and tried not to feel jealous as she 
reminded herself that she was the one that was taking Willow into her arms, 
so they could dance, and she was the one that would be taking her home after 
everything was over and done with. A flash of sympathy appeared for Oz then, 
a person who also knew what it was to hold the red head in their arms, and 
to love her...Buffy just hoped and prayed she would never find herself in 
the shoes Oz stood in today.

I guess the time was right for us to see.
We?d take our time and live our lives together day by day.
Make a wish and send it on a prayer.
We know our dreams can all come true if loving we can share.

As Devon started singing, Buffy and Willow melted into each other, losing 
themselves in the beautiful clarity of each other?s eyes and the words of 
the song, pledging forever in their hearts, just as they had at the altar 
that morning.

If you had never wondered, Will you be there for me.
If you had ever wondered, You?re the right one for me.

I finally found the love of a lifetime.
A love to last my whole life through.
I finally found the love of a lifetime.
Forever in my heart,
I finally found the love of a lifetime.

Jealous eyes watched the newlyweds dance, a jealous heart longed to be the 
one Willow clung to so tightly and looked at with so much love in her eyes. 
Buffy was clearly not the person the red head belonged with, her lifestyle 
was way too dangerous to be a suitable mate. A desperate yearning to hold 
the pledged Wiccan filled the silent soul with pain, and a vengeful spirit 
vowed to not give up the fight so easily. Feeling the burn of curious eyes, 
the unquiet heart lifted troubled eyes to meet those of the guitar player, 
seeing shared pain reflecting back. The guitar player?s brow furrowed as if 
he sensed something strange, and the soul quietly stepped back, out of 
sight.

With every kiss our love is like brand new.
And every star up in the sky was made for me and you.
Still we both know that the road is long.
We know that we will be together because our love is strong.

It was as if every other person in the room had disappeared and they were 
alone, dancing with each other across eternity. Every soft kiss Buffy 
bestowed was like a sweet breath of heaven on the red head?s skin, and every 
touch seared a flame through her blood.

Buffy ached to hold her wife closer, longed to be alone with her to complete 
the joining their hearts had taken that morning, but she contented herself 
with the sweet contact she was allowed here, continuing to brush soft kisses 
across her wife?s face as she held her close. "I love you." She murmured 
into her ear, hearing an echoing cry against her ear as they embraced each 
other on the dance floor.

I finally found the love of a lifetime.
A love to last my whole life through.
I finally found the love of a lifetime.
Forever in my heart,
I finally found the love of a lifetime.

Towards the middle of the song, other couples started joining in, dancing 
with their soul mates on Valentine?s Day was a requirement of sorts after 
all. Xander and Anya danced slow, still casting looks upon the married 
couple as if they couldn?t quite understand the concept of what brought two 
hearts together and made them one.

Joyce leant against Giles strength, enjoying how safe he made her feel while 
he held her close like this, and forgot to be embarrassed or wonder what her 
daughter might think if she saw them dancing. She had searched a long time 
for a love of a lifetime and decided she just might have found it in this 
odd person her daughter knew so well, yet in some ways didn?t have a clue 
about.

It felt so good to hold Joyce in his arms, It had been a long time since he 
had let himself open his heart to anyone, the last one had been Jenny, and 
her tragic death at the hands of Angelus had given him pause for thought 
that maybe Watcher?s weren?t meant to fall in love. But if that were true, 
then neither were Slayer?s, and Buffy seemed to be handling falling in love 
just fine. He had to admit he had felt drawn to Joyce for a long time, ever 
since that summer Buffy had disappeared and she had confronted Giles with 
the truth about her daughter. He had felt a certain amount of guilt for 
keeping the secret for so long, the responsibilities of the Watcher 
notwithstanding, and he had pledged, during that long summer of looking for 
Buffy that he would help Joyce to come to a certain understanding of her 
daughter. During the process, he had grown close to her, and now it just 
seemed like a natural progression for love to follow.

During Oz?s Guitar rift in the middle of the song, he allowed himself to 
remember all of the time he had spent with Willow, the admittedly outrageous 
adventures she had her friends had dragged him into, and the love they had 
felt for each other. He tried to console himself that he couldn?t have 
controlled the crazy spin of events that had pulled her out of his life, but 
he couldn?t help kicking himself for allowing her to get away. Once you?ve 
loved Willow Rosenberg, you always love her. Willow is not a person you 
could easily forget, and Oz knew that he would always hold a special place 
in his heart for her.

I finally found the love of a lifetime.
A love to last my whole life through.
I finally found the love of a lifetime.
Forever in my heart,
I finally found the love of a lifetime.

As the song was winding down, Buffy managed to pull herself from the world 
she and Willow had evicted themselves to, and was surprised...well not 
surprised really, but disconcerted to see her mother dancing with her 
Watcher. She wasn?t really sure what she felt as she watched them dancing 
close, showing obvious signs of being in love.

Feeling Buffy?s distraction, Willow looked up and followed her gaze to the 
spot where Joyce and Giles were dancing close. A smile lit the lips of the 
red head at the obvious love being displayed, although she did wonder at the 
slight tension she felt running through her wife?s frame. She decided she?d 
ask her later, when she got her alone.

The song ended and a few more played through before Buffy felt herself 
getting restless, feeling the ever increasing need to have her wife alone 
building up inside of her. "Hey, you ready to get out of here?" She asked, 
almost yelling in the din of the room.

Willow looked into her Wife?s face, seeing the need that was burning in her 
vibrant blue eyes and it filled her with an unquenchable fire of her own. 
She nodded slowly, letting her eyes speak volumes. Buffy grinned impulsively 
at her, kissing her right on the lips...okay, but we?ve gotta do the Bouquet 
thing before we leave or we?ll never hear the end of it.

Willow could see the wheels turning behind the intelligent gaze, as Buffy 
zeroed in on an unoccupied table, then pulled out a chair for Willow to sit 
in, although she turned it so the chair wasn?t facing the table, but the 
dance floor. "Okay...stay here. I?ll be right back."

Buffy took off across the dance floor, dodging dancing couples, and made her 
way to the stage, just as they were finishing up a song. She leapt up onto 
the stage, moving Devon out of the way as she stood in front of the mike. 
"Okay, I need all of the single men to form a small group." She grinned as 
the men pushed and shoved each other as they made their way to the small 
space of the dance floor.

Buffy went back to where Willow was sitting and knelt before her, an 
inscrutable grin lighting her face as she let her hand trail under the 
dress. "I?ve been wanting to do this all day." She grinned, as she let her 
hand trail over the red head?s smooth leg, searching for the elusive garter 
belt, amidst catcalls and whistles.

Willow wondered just how far up Buffy?s hand was going to go, noticing the 
gleam of desire fill the lovely blue eyes before her, when she felt the 
sought after material being removed and she saw Buffy?s hand reappear with 
the stretchy material clasped firmly in her right hand. "I wonder what other 
items I can do that with." Willow heard Buffy murmur, a slight grin twisting 
her lips, before she stood up and showed her prize to the cheering men.

"Okay, guys...get ready! One...two...three!" The Slayer shot the belt up 
into the air as soon as she said three, and watched as it sailed up, 
noticing that most of the men took three steps backwards at the same time, 
then came down to land haphazardly on Giles frames.

Buffy choked on her laughter as she watched the bemused Brit reach up and 
remove the springy material, looking like he didn?t quite know what to do 
with it. "Way to go, Giles." She called to him, watching in delight as color 
tinged his cheeks.

"Yes...well...yes...moving on." He directed with a stare, as he wrapped the 
garter around his arm.

Buffy took pity on his frazzled state, and moved on with the festivities, so 
that she and her wife could go make playtime. "Okay Ladies. Your turn."

The women assembled a lot quicker than the men had. As Willow turned her 
back and threw the bouquet over her right shoulder, the women jostled each 
other for position, each wanting to be the one who caught it.

It was a toss up as to who was going to win between Cordelia and Joyce, as 
the trajectory of the flowers seemed to zone right in on them. Cordelia 
feinted right as Joyce feinted left and they both reached out for the 
Garland, but when the smoke cleared it was Joyce that held up the floral 
bouquet and Cordelia that looked up from the restaurant floor, a disgruntled 
look on the brunette?s face.

Buffy and Willow laughed out loud at the sight, then as if it was a mutual 
decision, they grabbed each other?s hands and ran for the door, not stopping 
until they reached the darkness of the parking lot and it occurred to Buffy 
that she didn?t know how they were going to get home. They hadn?t even said 
goodbye to Joyce or Giles, and now they felt rather foolish standing 
outside, wondering if they should go back in and wait for a ride, or walk 
home.

Before they could come to a reasonable decision, Willow noticed a man 
dressed in uniform holding a sign that said "Rosenberg-Summers" and standing 
by the biggest black Limo that she had ever seen. "Uh...Buffy." She said, 
and pointed, not quite able to believe what she was seeing.

Buffy followed the finger and felt her mouth gape open at the sight. "Um..." 
She said, walking over to it, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Greetings Mrs. Rosenberg-Summers. My name is Jim and I?ll be your driver 
for this evening." The driver said, as he opened the back seat of the Limo. 
Without a second thought, Buffy hopped into the Limo, feeling the soft 
cushion as she landed, then twisted around and pulled Willow in on top of 
her.

She barely registered the door closing, as their lips met, a soft groan 
issuing forth from their joined lips, and Buffy allowed herself to wonder 
just what awaited her on this, her Wedding night.

Another Bride, Anther Groom,
Another sunny Honey moon.
Another Season, another reason,
For Makin whoopee.

There you go gang, Jim it's your turn.:-) Be nice to our fair ladies.:) 
Treat 'em to a nice smooth ride, and watch out for those pot holes along the 
way.;-)

Shyfox
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